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Dusseldorf

Germany’s seventh largest city, Dusseldorf feels like a major metropolis that’s been shrunk.

Culturally rich, Its Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is among Germany’s best galleries for art since 1900 and Dusseldorf’s 1920s expressionist Tonhalle concert hall is one of the most beautiful anywhere in the world. The city isn’t solely about high culture, though. Dusseldorf is known within Germany as a media and fashion centre, and its Königsallee – “Kö” for short – has Germany’s densest cluster of designer shops. The city’s old town has been called “the longest bar in the world”, fronted by a broad promenade along the Rhine that functions as Dusseldorf’s open-air living room.

Dusseldorf can also be edgy. The city that spawned electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk boasts a large contemporary art scene, one that started the careers of major artists such as Gerhard Richter and Sigmar Polke. Meanwhile, the rippling Frank Gehry-designed Zollhof complex in its revamped Media Harbour is one of Germany’s most eye-popping modern landmarks.